Despite the frequentl doom and gloom, the latest energy production statistics may over a ray of light for the electrcitiy situation in South Africa.

StatsSA have released their monthly data for South Africa’s electricity consumption, and the picture is looking better for the country. After small improvements for the production side of things, consumption also dropped.

Electricity production in South Africa: The stats

The figures show us that electricity generation (production) increased by 0.1% year-on-year in June 2019. Seasonally adjusted electricity generation increased by 0.5% in June 2019 compared with May 2019.

This followed month-on-month changes of -0.7% in May 2019 and 3.3% in April 2019. Seasonally adjusted electricity generation increased by 2.1% in the second quarter of 2019 compared with the first quarter of 2019.

This came after month-on-month changes of -0.3% in May 2019 and 3.1% in April 2019. Seasonally adjusted electricity distribution increased by 1.2% in the second quarter of 2019 compared with the first quarter of 2019.

Year-on-year energy production

In fact, the last five months of energy production from Eskom looks like a losing streak that could only be matched by the EFF’s recent record in court. They have recorded year-on-year losses for electricity generated in every month of 2019 up to June. The figures for last month may have improved quarterly, but the year-on-year stats remain unfavourable:

January 2019: Down by 2.1%.

February 2019: Down by 2%.

March 2019: Down by 2.3%

April 2019: Down by 1.3%

May 2019: Down by 1.1%

June 2019: Up by 0.1%

Good news and bad news

We may only be halfway through the year, but energy security in South Africa isn’t as healthy as it once was. Having said that, July marks four months since the last load shedding incident in the country, and the government’s nine-point turnaround plan for winter seems to be working well enough. The lights, for the meantime, are staying on.

Could load shedding curb electricity gains?

The threat of load shedding still looms large over South Africa, though. Prominent experts have discussed the chances of power cuts returning this month, with analysts now convinced another round of blackouts are coming.